Tray for delivering goods



(No Model.)

11G. CALDWELL. TRAY FOR DELIVERING GOODS.

No. 422,717. Patented Mar. 4, 1890.

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117,133 3 V I Q. 6 %M4 P II 7 Zr UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK G. GALDYVELL, OF WVHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA.

TRAY FOR DELIVERING GOODS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 422,717, dated March 4, 1890.

Application filed August 21, 1889. Serial No. 321,472. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK G. CALDWELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wheeling, in the county of Ohio'and State of Test Virginia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Trays for Delivering Goods, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a cheap, durable, and convenient tray or basket especially adapted for use by grocers and other dealers when delivering goods. Retail grocers usually keep on hand an odd assortment of boxes and baskets within which small parcels of goods are packed for delivery to the houses of purchasers either by wagon or by a porter. Such boxes and baskets are not particularly adapted to withstand the rough usage to which they are often subjected, and, having usually no distinctive character by which they can be identified, they are liable to become mislaid or lost.

My invention consists in a durable sheetmetal tray having suitable handles and provided with a wooden bottom that is braced and protected on its under side by parallel metal guards secured to the ends of the tray, whereby it is strengthened and made convenient for the transportation of goods by wagon or otherwise to the customers dwelling, the shape of the tray being such that when not in use it can be packed one into another, so

that but very little floor space will be occupied. I

In the annexed drawin gs,illustratin g the invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved tray for delivering goods. Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the same. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the tray. Fig. 4. is an end view of the tray. Fig. 5 is an enlarged horizontal section of one of the tray corners on the line 00 so, Fig. at, showing how the joint from the portion forming an end or side folded around the contiguous end or side, as the case may be, and in so folding the metal the lap is made wider at the bottom than at.

the top, so as to produce the required outward flare, Figs. 3 and 5, of the upper part of the tray.

The bottom 3 of the tray consists of a stout piece of wood secured in place by nails or other fastening-s passed through the sheet metal ends and sides and into the edges of the wood bottom. The sheet-metal ends and sides are folded beneath the wood bottom 3 and nailed thereto, as shown in Fig. 2, thereby forming a close, tight joint around the bottom of the tray.

As a further means of securing the bottom 3 in place, and also for protecting the tray from the effects of hard usage, one or more parallel metal guards 4 are extended longitudinally beneath the tray bottom in contact therewith, and are provided with upturned ends 5,that are securely fastened to the ends of the tray. By providing the tray with a wooden bottom protected 011 the outside by metal guards the tray is enabled to keep its shape under the weight of goods packed therein, and it can be pulled or pushed in or out of a wagon without damage to the traybottom.

The top of the tray is Wired, as usual in metal pans.

Each end of the tray is provided with a handle 6, that is formed by partly cutting a piece of metal from the tray end near its top edge, and then rolling or curving the partly detached piece of metal upward around the transverse bar of a metal bail 7, that is secured to the tray and extends along the sides and top of the hand-opening 8 thus formed. The turned-up portion of metal that is curved around the transverse bar of the bail affords an enlarged smooth surface for the hand, thereby enabling the handle to be grasped more firmly. This construction, while of great convenience, is so simple and inexpensive that it adds but little to the cost of the tray.

A delivery-tray of this character and construction forms a distinctive article of manufacture and use adapted to supply an everyday want of dealers who are required to de liver goods in numerous small parcels that should be kept together until they reach their destination.

The flaring form of the tray adds to its strength and neatness of appearance, besides enabling the trays to rest one within another to economize space.

VVhatI claim as my invention is- 1. As a new article of manufacture, the herein-described delivery-tray, consisting of the flaring ends and sides formed from a straight continuous strip of sheet metal with folded and seamless corner-joints, a Wooden bottom, and metal guards located beneath the bottom, substantially as described.

2. As a new article of manufacture, the herein-described delivery-tray, consisting of flaring sheet-metal sides and ends formed from a straight continuous strip of sheet metal provided with handles and seamless corner-joints, a Wooden bottom, and parallel metal guards located beneath the bottom and secured to the ends of the tray, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a tray having a sheet-metal body provided with handle;openings formed by cutting out a portion of the metal, of a metal bail secured to the traybody and extended along the sides and top of said openings, the transverse bar of each bail being covered by the turned-up portions of metal partly cut from the tray-body, substantiallyas described.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

FRANK G. CALDWELL.

, lVitncsses:

W. VARDY', XV. F. PETERSON, 

